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April 9, 1929.

H. ALLES TRAFFIC SIGNALI NG DEVI CE Filed Sept. 5, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet l Iig ////// /l/ ll/A Fig/5c, 3.:

Filed Sept. 5, 1925 n 3 Sheetsl-Sheet 2 April 9, 1929.' H. ALLES TRAFFIC SIGNALING nEvIcE Filed Sept. 5, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 9, 1929.

UNITED STATES HENRY ALLE-S, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

TRAFFIC-SIGNALING DEVICE. i I' Application filed September 5, 1925. Serial No.' 54,718.

My invention relates to traffic signaling vdevices and consists in arranging a signaling box having the words Right, Left and Stop7 in the front and rear views of the box, and the letteisR, L, and S in the ends of the boxxso as to be'illum'inated and shown through a red glass-when the signals are given, and thel hollow figure of .a traffic olicer is shown mounted on top l10 of the box at the left side of the driver at the point where hand signals are looked for'. The figure of the traflie oilicer raises the .right arm, indicating right turn when it is desired to turnto the right, or the left arm when it vis desired to turn to the left, or both arms when it is desired to stop. The signals given by the illuminated words and letters in the sides and ends of the box are in unison with those given by the hollow figure of the traffic ollicer mounted thereon, and the .box is so mounted at the left side of the car as tobe visiblerfrom vthe front, rear, land both sides, vand the signals are plainly seenl from in front through the glare of the headlights, thus preventing confusion. The words and letters in the sides of the signaling box are cut in the metal sides and are projected'throughv red glass so as to indicate danger when the signals are given.

The box is divided into three signal lamp compartments, each having a lamp to illuminate through red glass the Words and letters belonging to the respective compartments; and the mechanism to operate the arms of the figure and the electrical contacts is located in the top of the box.

The mechanism is shown operated from the steering wheel by a lever operating bellcranks which pull wires through armoured flexible tubing that are attached to bellcranks within the signaling box. The bellcranks within the signaling box are mounted pivotally to a bracket on the sides of thc box and are attached to wires leading from the signaling box through the hollow body of the figure of the trallie officer to the pivoted arms, so that when a bell-crank is pulled it in turn pulls down the Wires and rais the pivoted arm. Tension springs are attached to the wires and suitable bases which return the wires to their neutral position when the bell-cranks are released.

The bell-cranks, which are in the upper part of the signaling box` and which are leading to thelamps'in said-box. In so d0'- ing,= the bell-cranks jpress `:upon insulators which. are-attached to spring leaf contacts,

.which contacts are yattachedto.- vcmductor posts, thereby depressing ,thesaidyspring `leaf contactsv into engagementvwith'a lower spring leaf contact that is in circuit with an electric battery, whereby a current is caused to flow through the circuit made by the contacts. In this way, whenone of the dummys arms is raised, a. corresponding signal lamp is lighted. y

There are three of these bell-cranks arranged side by side in the .top vof .the signaling box. The two outer ones ,are attached to pulling Wires leading through the Aarmoured flexible tubing to, the operating device shown at the steering wheel andthe middle one is attached to ag'wire leading through an armoured flexible tubingfto': thc foot brake. -When the bellfcranks shown at the steering Wheel are thrown by the hand lever to oneside the Wire 'attached is p ulledand it in turn pulls the-bell-,crank in the signaling box, Aand in like manner pulls the Wire to the pi'voted arm ofthe ligure of the tratlic officer and raises the arm attached thereto-and at the same time depresses the -spring leaf to, form acontact. with a chargedv spring leaf and, causes a current to flow through the lamp which illuminates the proper signal.

The center bell-crank in the signaling box is attached to a wire leadiiw through an armoured flexible tubing to t e foot brake and a tension spring, so that when thevfoot brake is depressed the tension spring pulls the wire leading to the central bello-crank which has transverse met-al leaves or bars attached thereto which engage the bellcrank on each side and depress both of them simultaneously, thus raising both pivotefl arms of the figure of the traffic oflicer. As the center bell-crank descends it strikes an insulator attached to the electrically charged spring leaf and begins to depress it before the bell-cranks upon the sides strike their insulators, and in this manner prevents electric contacts from being formed by the side bell-cranks and springA vleaves while the continued depression of the electricallyr charged spring leaf makes a Contact witha spring leaf below it, and closes an electric circuit leading to the lamp that illuminates the word fStop. A,lifhcrirthec foot brake' is released, the tensionv spring' pulls the wire back into )osition and the circuit caused thereby is broken and .the arms drop to .e neutral position.

These and other features of mT 'Invention are more particularly described with reference to the accompanying.l three sheet-s of drawings, in which Figure' l shows the traffic signaling device mounted uponthe automobile by a` hollow bracket 'leading to the signal box, through which the armoured flexible tubing holding the pulling wires pass toit-'he signalingbox. A side view of the figure of thev trallic ollicer and an end view of the signal box is shown, also the operating device, which' for convenience is shown below the steering wheel attached to the-steering column and the armoured flexible tubings leading therefrom and from thel footbrake ',intothe hollow bracket are. also shown together with the electric conductors to the signal lights.

Fig. 2 is a diagram of the electric conductors leading from the lxatt-ery or' generator to the signal lights.

Fig-3 isa: front view of the figure of the traffic ollicer mounted upon a base forming the top of the signal box and showing vthe connection of vthe wires which operate the arms to the bell 'cranks below. i lVhen the figure raises theright arm it indicates a right turn, the left arm indicates left turn and bothvarms indicate stop.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the signal box with a part of the back of lt e figure of the tratl'rc ollicer cut out. It' shows the wires connected to thebelI-c'ranks and from the'bell-e'ranks to the p'ivoted arms, also the electrical wiring and circuits to the signal lights. The signal box isdivided into thret` signaling compartments, one for each lamp or signallight-Leftf-Stop and the letters R,-L, and S. The bell-cranks are shown mounted to a bracket attached to the end in the top of the box. Also .the tension springs and the electrical contacts consisting of spring leaves with insulators attached to the upper .sides to prevent a shortl circuit when they are depreed by the bell-cranks to make contact.

Fig. is a side View of the ligure of tlutraliic ofliccr and an end view of the signal box with a portion cut away showing the bell-cranks mounted. on the opposite end of the box. This View shows the manner in which the leaves of metal are bentnat right angles from the center bell-crank to engage the bell-crank on each side ofthe middle one, and depresses them with the vcenter one when it ispulled down to signal Stop.

Fig. 6 is a plan View of the spring and electrical connections which close .the circuits to the various signals made by lamps in thc three compartments of the signal box. 1-Fig. 7 is an 4enlarged plan. view et the means -for operating the'bell--cran-ks.

Y Fig. 8 is a side view of Fig. 7.

Fig-9 is a, section through the operating mechanism contained in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, showing the slot through which the operating lever engages the bell-cranks, attached to pulling'wires encased in armoured flexible tubing which is clamped in the lower end ofthe box. The lever slides in the slot to left or right and in forcing either' hell-crank over pulls upon the'wireattached thereto.

In alljthe tiguresv the same.. reference numerals refer to like parts.

Beginning lwith Fig. 9, the tip of the operating leve'r` is'shown at l. -lVhcn the lever 'is thrown to' the iight-the point of the lever slides in the openslot tothe left and engages the bell-crank 2,' which turns upon a pivot and pulls'th'e wire 3 shown at the bottoni of the figure passing through an armoured flexible 'tubing'held'in clamps at the bottom of the box. The wire 3 leads through the armoured flexible tubing and the hollow bracket to the signal box to a screw clamp attached to al bar 39'havinga slot-,in which is helda bell-crank at f1, Fig. 4. lVhen the bellcrank 2 ',(Fig. 9) pullsthewire 3 it slips in the flexible tubing and pulls the slotted bur 39 andthe bell-cranlr 4',{Fig. 4,- which in turn pullsdownthe' wire 5, Fig.'4, and raises the right armv oftheiigure of the 'trallie oliicer as indicated bylthe dotted lines of the arm. As the bellfcrzmk 4s; 4, ispulled down, 4it strikes on' insulator't whiclrdepresscs .the 'spring leaf 7', andv makes'an velectric contact -with a chargedr'ispring leaf 8 `and causes a. circuit. to flow through conductor 9 to the lamp l0 which shows through red glass and illinninates the word Bight in vthe front and rear and the letter on the ends of the signal box. Then the operating lever 1 is thrown back to .the central position at l, Fig. 9, the bell-crankv is released and the coil spring 20, Fig. 4, pulls the wire 3 in the flexible tubing back to its original position and the tensioncoil spring Q1 in the hollow body of the figure of the trafiic oiccr pulls up the. bellcrank 4 and forces the arm from the dotted posit-ion shown in Fig. 4 down to the neutral position. This breaks the contact between the spring leaf T and the cha'rgcd spring leaf 8, thus breaking the circuit l'o the lamp and zei-minutes the nal giron for a right hand turn.

lv'hcn it is desired to gire a signal for a left hand turn Vthe operating lever l, Fig. 9, is pushed to the left which forces the bellcranl: 11, Fig. 9, over as the point of the lever l travels in the slot and pulls up on the wire 12, which is encased in an armoured flexible tubing leading to the signal box through the hollow bracket and is connected in a like manner to a bell-crank 17, Fig',

and is hidden behind 4,-F 4, to' which is attached the wire 13 connected to the left arm of the' figure, of the tratiic officer and raises the'pivot'cd arm to the position indicatedby the dotted` lines of the figure of the arm. In' like manner the-pull of the wirel2 upon' the' bell-crank 17, Fig. 3,7Fig. 5, and Fig. 1, depresses -upon an insulator 6 attached to spring leaf 18, Figp, and makes a contact wit-hfthe charged spring leaf 8 and sends a current through 'the 'conductor If14 which leads tothelamp l5-andthe wortv Left upon the front and rear and'letter L o nthe ends of the fsignal box are illuminated through red glass. By returning` the operating lever 1,- Fig. 9,' to central Iposition a coil spring A20,v Fig.'=4, pulls the wire 12 in the -arinouredflexible tubing` back into position 'ndfthe'tension'spring 23 which is shown anchored to the cut-away portion 'of the back'of the figure of the tratiie otlicer pulls up thev bell-crank breaking' the electric circuit leading to tliei'lanup '-15 and' forces the left arm from the dotted position down to the'natural position, thus terminating the left turn sign` :A

lVhe-n itis desired to give the signalV to stop, the foot brake is depressed' which pulls down vupon the/"coil spring 25, Fig. 1, and the wire 26 which leads through the armoured flexible tubing 27 and hollow bracket to the signal box and is attached to the middle bell-crank 24, Fig. 4, which has transverse leaves or bars 28, 29, 30, 31, which engage bell-cranks 4 and 17, Fig. 4, and pull their. down with it and raise both pivoted arms of t-he figure of the traffic otticcr. As the bell-crank 24 depresses bell-cranks 4 and 17, the lower leg of 4 and 17 travels in a slot. 39 in the metal bars connecting the pulling wires 3 and 12 with tension springs, thus preventing a backward thrust on those wires while the bell-cranks 4 and 17 pull down on wires 5 and 13 to raise both pivoted arms of the figure of the traflic officer. As the bell-crank 24 is pulled down it strikes au insulator attached to the top side of the charged spring leaf S before the bell-cranks 4 and 17 strike thc insulators attached to spring leaves 7 and 13, thus preventing a contact being made by the bell-cranks raising the right and left arn'ls as the bell-crank 24 dcpresses the charged .spring leaf to make. a Contact with `thc spring leaf 33 which .sends a current through the conductor 34 t'o the lamp 35 and projects through the red glass the word Stop in the front and rear and the letter S on the ends of the signal bo.\ giving out the signal Stop,

As the foot brake is released, a tension spring attached to the bell-crank 24 and located between the tension spring 20 and the tension spring attached to the bell-crank 17 (not shown) pulls the wire in the flexible tubing back into position while the tension time.

springs' in -thef'bod-y of4 the figure o' the -trattic officer pulllupthe bell-cranks 4 and 17 and force both l-pivoted arms ofthe Afigure of the tratlic oflicer from the dotted position 'down to thenatural position. i

" One'advantage of my invention is that -rear driver-did not see the hand put out and ran emergency'demanded that the driver use both hands at the'steering whcel.' Also the Afigure can be opera-ted independent of the light, `thus saving the'battery :in the day I also provide a locking device to hold the operating. lever vin the position to which it is shifted, which .is shown at 40, Fig. 9, and consists of` a. springinade fast in the top o'l" the operating box with'both'ends terininating vin a bow in front -of .the slot in which fthe operating lever slides and which are bent to forni a rest for the ,operating-'lever when -it isin the central` position. lVhen the point of the lever l, Fig. 9, is shifted either to the right or left into the respective dottedline position, it passes beneath the downwa rdly bowed portion of the spring 40, lifting the latter during the first, partvof the movement. As the said point approaches the end of its travel, the spring settles dewn behind it, and thus yieldingly holds the lever 1 and the parts connected therewith in the position to which they have been moved. lVhen the point of the lever 1 is thrown back to the central position the pull of the tension springs attached to the wires pulling on the released bell-crank is arrested b v the top leg of the bell-crank in the. operating box, striking against a rest 22. Fig. 9, and thus holds the. operating lever in its` central position.

'lhe electrical circuits for operating the .signal lights arc shown in Fig. 2, in which 3G is the battery, 37 is the switch which when closed throws the current into the conductor 3S leading to t'he .spring leaf 8. lVheu the spring leaf 7 is depressed to contact with 3 a current flows through the conductor t) to the. lanlp 10, and when the spring leaf 18 is depressed to form a contact with S, a current flows through the conductor 14 to the lamp 15, and when the .spring lcat S is depressed to form a Contact with 33 a. currentl flows through conductor 34 to the lamp 35. The tail light is shown at 39". It is understood that the wiring is to be adapted to the kind of circuit used by the car installing my device, and that it is not necessary to utilize the signal lights during the daylltl time, it it is dsiied teem/.e thebatteries, v.which can be dene by openingfthe switch 37 and closing it' when. itis desired to use them` 5 I also provide a.- framef L.t1 onthe front and rearlsides.- of my signal box to hold the drivervs lieense or'- other--means-- et 'identifieatiom I :Having thus desei'ibed my invention, what 10 I .okaim asnew and. desireto secure by Letters Patentniszr Y 1.A Ina-.signaLdeviee-.oifa 'vehiclea pair o-slotted slides, meansepenalzilel from a remote point fon seperatelymovingv said slides,

,16 .springs 4fdr holding the slides Tin-their nor- -mal-; positions, a xbell' 'crank vfox; each 'of said slides, :'eaeh bell 'gera-nk V 'having an .arm 'extendimgfintofthe lslotl '0E its :respective slide whei'ebyftheqbelleramk is Vrocked when its .20 slide is moved against the tension otite -sprin'gggg` a :thiid bellwciiink pil-voted adjacent the first mentioned; bell cranks and having means for' engaging and rocking thef- :latter bell cranks simultaneously, the.` arms-ofthe 2.6 lnttexbell; cranks thenrno-ving freely in the -sllots of their respective slides Without mov ing the latter, ,and m'eans for voperating the said thirds bell crank.

2.*In"avehiclesisignaling dev-ice the clmi'actei described, a 'pluijatlgity of signaling ments fiioni a remote point, an additional bell-crank within the C2i-sing, means :independent of the saldA operating means'foi actuating the said additional bell-cranl$:;,=and

means coxqnected with the said additional "belt-crank andV positioned tos-engage the .tirst mentioned bell-ciankswhen the additional bell-.crank is operated, whereby the signaling` elements are simuita-neously operated.

A struct-ine as specified' incla-im 2in which the casing-contains a plurality of eliectric signa-i lamps and contaetswitehes in circuits leading to said lamps, and meanswberebyvsaid switches are selectively 0perated as the said bell-cranksare actuated, whereby the circuits leading to. the' lamps are selectively closed. Y

HENRY ALLES. 

